Eugenio Monti
Eugenio Monti (January 23, 1928 – December 1, 2003) was an Italian bobsledder known for an act of sportsmanship during the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria that made him the first athlete ever to receive the Pierre de Coubertin medal.
Biography
Monti was born in Dobbiaco, Italy, The Flying Redhead once considered becoming a skier. But in the early 1950s he became a bobsledder as an accident on an Italian mountain ended his aspirations. At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, he won silver medals in the 2-man and 4-man bobsled events. He won gold in the same events four years later in Squaw Valley, California.
But it was during the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck that Monti performed the most well-known act of his sporting career. Realizing that British bobsledders Tony Nash and Robin Dixon were missing a bolt on their sled, Monti gave them a bolt to attach on their sled. The Britons won the gold medal in the 2-man bobsled, while Monti and his teammate took the bronze medal. Answering critics from the home press, Monti told them "Nash didn't win because I gave him the bolt. He won because he had the fastest run."
Four years later in Grenoble, France, a 40-year-old Monti won a gold in both the two-man and four-man events. After his victory, he received Italy's highest civilian honor – the Commendatore of the Italian Republic and then retired to labor in his skiing facilities in Cortina.
Monti passed away on December 1, 2003.
